Is that skid steer loader on the farm proving to be not exactly the best machine for the conditions it has to operate in? Skid steers with limited ground clearance can often get hung up in soft ground in a barnyard, especially in muddy corrals in the spring. And they are slow, with top speeds around 10 m.p.h. But despite their drawbacks they are pretty good at moving material.
Maybe, though, the right machine for those difficult farm conditions is actually an articulated wheel loader. They aren’t as maneuverable, but they have better ground clearance and can get around quickly.
This year Bobcat added one more compact wheel loader to the top end of its now-three-model range: the L95, which offers more horsepower and bucket capacity.
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“We wanted to bring a wheel loader to the market that could achieve an increased travel speed,” product specialist Jamison Wood says. “The L95 will be able to travel at 24 m.p.h. (38 km/h). We also wanted to increase our maximum hydraulic pressure and increase flow for running attachments. The improvements to the hydraulic capacity really help the machine perform with powered attachments under extreme loads.
“In a farm or ranch application the ground clearance is quite a bit better compared to a skid or track loader.”
The in-house Bobcat engine puts out 75 horsepower through a two-range hydrostatic transmission. It offers a 10.5-foot (3.2-metre) lift height and its 1.2-cubic yard bucket has a load rating of up to 3,981 pounds (1,805 kilograms).
With those specs and the ability to move down the road at a quick pace, the L95 would be well suited to loading round bales onto a truck in fields quite a distance from the farmyard.
The L95 also works with Bobcat’s standard attachment system, so skid steer attachments can be fitted to it. And with a 27-g.p.m. (102-litre) hydraulic flow rate it has more capacity to handle powered attachments.
“We do have our power Bob-Tach design system on this,” Wood says. “So from the operator seat you can open and close the Bob-Tach lever. If you’re using non-hydraulic powered attachments you don’t even have to get out of the cab.”
Compact wheel loaders may not be as maneuverable in tight quarters, but with a centre articulation point they can still get through tight spaces pretty well.
“With centre articulation you do get good navigation for the size and length of the machine,” Wood says.
And because the operator station is up higher than in a skid steer, 360-degree visibility is significantly better.
“They do have a five-inch display screen in them with the capability for a rear-view camera,” he added.
Like skid steers, though, the compact wheel loaders aren’t designed for pulling anything, like a regular ag tractor with a front-end loader could.
“We have a rear retrieval hitch, but we don’t have this machine rated to pull trailers or anything,” Wood said.
A telematics package is also available on the L95. And it can be ordered with a climate-controlled cab or as an open-station model.
“We are open for orders and hoping to get product on the ground to our dealers late this year or early next year,” Wood said last fall. “Our base L95 starts at around US$100,000 and then our deluxe cab is about a US$13,000 upcharge.”
